#1 - Soldering Skills Practice and Construction of a Breadboard-Compatible 5V Power Supply

Welcome to Electronics 10! This is essentially an entry level (no requirements needed) robotics/mechatronics course, designed to introduce and teach you many of the skills and tools needed to pursue mechatronics as a career, or even a hobby! Since this is an introduction to mechatronics, we will cover various topics! Let us begin with one of the basic skills that will be integral to your work...

Hands-On Soldering Practice

Soldering electronic components to a circuit board or other components will be very important to completing tasks, and it ensures that there is a secure, electrical connection between your components. It involves superheating a metal tip to very high temperatures so that it can melt solder, its accompanying metal that melts to provide an electric connection to the items that you are soldering together. When soldering, remember these tips:

Soldering 101

*Warning, soldering irons become VERY hot! Please exercise caution when using the iron.*

1. ALWAYS be careful around a soldering iron. Assume that it is hot (even if it has been unplugged for a while), and avoid touching the exposed metal, unless you want to get burned!

2. When finished, put the soldering iron back into its holder to avoid any accidents or burns.

3. Don't touch the soldering iron to its own power cord! It will melt in moments.

4. If you drop the soldering iron, don't attempt to catch it. Dodge it and pick it up by the handle quickly afterwards.

5. RESPECT others by considering their safety as well!

6. Wash your hands after use! Especially before eating!

A Soldering Iron Powered On

Now that we know safety practices, let us practice! To prolong the life of your soldering iron, remember to practice a technique referred to as "tinning the tip". This involves adding a bit of flux-infused solder (flux is a chemical that allows for easier melting and cleaner connections) to the tip of the soldering iron, and then wiping it off on a wet sponge (like the one above). This helps prevent oxidization/degradation of the iron's tip. Now, let's practice soldering!

Some random components to practice soldering on.

Good soldering joints look more like short cones. Avoid using too much solder or you will end up with a big BLOB!

Making a 5V Power Supply

Now that we have practiced soldering, let us move on! An important tool to have when working with electronics is a power supply to turn on and see if your constructed circuit really works! With our practiced soldering skills, let us take an old phone charger, strip off the end, and solder some new wires onto it (red for positive +5V, black for ground -). After soldering, use shrink wrap and a heat gun/fan to seal over the exposed wiring.

Now the job looks finished! Time to test the power supply!

It works! Congratulations on your working, reconstructed power supply! Onward to the next task: Learning how a breadboard works.

Also shown above is a power connection  we created for the Arduino (a microcontroller) should we need it later.